Sunday, January 24, 2016

Great Film Series: SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT

After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the 1955 comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende)
at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman. In
turn-of-the-century Sweden, four men and four women attempt to navigate
the laws of attraction. During a weekend in the country, the women
collude to force the men’s hands in matters of the heart, exposing their
pretensions and insecurities along the way. Chock-full of flirtatious
propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen
legends as Gunnar Björnstrand and Harriet Andersson, Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies.

The film was the inspiration for the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical, A Little Night Music.